Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires New Stake in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG)

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC has invested $238,000 in MGIC Investment Corporation, acquiring 9,621 shares of the company's stock during the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a $750 million stock buyback program, allowing it to reacquire up to 12.5% of its shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• MGIC Investment also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous quarter’s dividend of $0.13.

Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MGIC Investment by 7,837.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 20.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,749 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 262.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 3,482 shares during the last quarter. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MGIC Investment Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MGIC Investment stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.92. 632,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,186,547. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.94 and a 1-year high of $28.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.28.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 62.58% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The business had revenue of $304.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from MGIC Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.67%.

MGIC Investment announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on MGIC Investment from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.43.

Insider Transactions at MGIC Investment

In other news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $529,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 157,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,169,393.55. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.22, for a total value of $786,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 249,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,539,294.22. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MGIC Investment Profile

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.